LUSH Experience

As part of my quest to find gentler skin products, I wandered into LUSH one day. The staff were super friendly and helpful. I selected a couple different soaps to try out. When I paid for my $6 purchase, I was offered a gift card for a free facial or foot care experience.

Not the exact LUSH store, but this one looks a lot like it.
You can click on the photo for a link back to the blog I swiped it from.

Free is my favourite price.

Granted, this system is a clever sales ploy:
1. Get customer back into store.
2. Give them free stuff.
3. They fall in love with your product and keep buying it forever.
However, I happened to be in the market for new skincare products anyways. A free trial sounded like fun. And, the salespeople had been really kind and helpful without pressuring me to buy anything. I appreciated that.

When I walked into the store, I was greeted by a girl I will call Tammy. She was tall and somewhat rotund, and exudated a gentle confidence.

Excerpt from conversation between Tammy (T) and me (M):
T: What is your current skin care routine?
M: Routine? Uh, I use Spectro gel in the mornings. That's about it. I don't even wear makeup most of the time.
T: Ok. And what is your skin like?
I loved that there wasn't a hint of judgment in her 'ok' in response to my extreme low-maintenance approach to skincare. I've shocked cosmetics salespeople with this revelation before.
M: Mixed. Oh, and somewhat sensitive. I have to watch what products I use.
T: Alright, I know which products I will select for you. Just have a seat here. You can use the headband to pull back your hair, and I will put a cape on you to prevent product from getting on your clothes.
'Here' was right in the middle of the store. Anyone walking by could stop and watch my facial experience through the ginormous window if they so chose. Yikes.
Tammy came back with the products. She placed them on a table and stood behind me.
T: Just relax. You need to press your head into me. I will start by giving you a face massage.
Ok, so I like to think of myself as reasonably chill. However, 'relaxation' and 'press your head into my boobs' just don't go together in my books. Particularly when it's someone I just met, and I'm the featured product in the window display. Perhaps she could sense this, because the next thing she said was:
T: If you're uncomfortable, just say something and we'll change positions.
Oh, God. I wasn't sure how to delicately handle that situation. And, you know, I felt a certain amount of social pressure to just go with the flow.
M: I'm fine.
Meanwhile, my neck was getting really sore from maintaining the facial massage position without really pushing into Tammy's chest.
T: Next, we have the cream...

The rest of the facial was actually quite pleasant. My skin felt really soft afterwards. Tammy prepared a great little take-home bag of free samples so I can try everthing at home. She even wrote out instructions on how to use each product. There was no pressure to buy anything the same day (though I did get a couple things in the end). All in all, it was a good experience, though I'm not sure I would do it again.